Glory Stolen and Returned Introduction When this month I received an Anglican Prayer Diary with not one prayer addressed to God the Father, and at a public meeting no less a Pentecostal than Margaret Court said “Many Pentecostals today talk … Continue reading →

The Intercessory Life Personal Matters I have long believed that God is working through even the seemingly “minor” things of life to bring us to Jesus. Sometimes however we are surprised to discover an aspect of the Spirit’s actions in … Continue reading →

Mary and Martha: the Way of Discipleship St Mark’s 23.8.15 Isa 26:1-12;Psalm 16; Phil 4:4-7;    “Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had … Continue reading →

Excommunication: the grace of the Father “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as present, … Continue reading →

Precious Personal Matters “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel … Continue reading →

Cry Mercy Introduction Whilst I am aware of various groups starting up to pray for revival in Australia, I see an essential ingredient missing in the prayer life of the Church; I am not hearing deep cries to God for … Continue reading →

Paul  St Mark’s 2.8.15                 Isa 43:1-10; Ps 71:1-16; Acts 9:1-22; Luke 24:44-48  Introduction  (Saul>Paul) Testimony: This has been a pressured week. I had to deal with various very painful situations in people’s lives when I was in Melbourne Wednesday-Thursday, I … Continue reading →

John the Baptist St Mark’s Church on the Rise 19.7.15 (Isa 40:1-8; Ps 139:1-16; Acts 19:1-7; Luke 3:1-18)   Introduction John the Baptist is perhaps the most misunderstood of all biblical characters. When a preacher labelled John “harsh and legalistic” … Continue reading →

Personal Matters The Lord is preparing his Church for a reformation as momentous as anything that has happened in the last 500 years. In this context I was privileged to attend a seminar on the relationship between Church and Marketplace … Continue reading →

Christian worship on Sunday has a significance which goes well beyond merely encouragement, fellowship and corporate worship.  This significance is related to the designation by the early church of Sunday as the Lord’s Day.  To grasp what this means we … Continue reading →

SHE Personal matters The deepest revelation comes in the context of conflict, because it involves sharing in the sufferings of Christ (Heb 10:32). Such enlightenment however does not come automatically but through willing submission to God’s profoundly exacting purposes. The … Continue reading →

On Friday morning (3rd July 2015) in the small hours the coach of the AFL team the Adelaide Crows was (allegedly) murdered in his home in Adelaide.  The response in the media (both traditional media and social media) to this … Continue reading →

Resource W.A. Personal Matters Watching the Swan winding towards Perth then walking across an overpass for rail lines and the Freeway headed towards our CBD I sensed the Lord speaking about cities as concentration points of natural and human resources. … Continue reading →

Fear God Luke 9:28-36 (NLT) Heb 5:7 (RSV) Mark 14:32-36; Mark 15:33-34 (ESV) Red Door CC 28.6.15 Introduction The topic today I have been given today to complete your series on fear seen through the life of Peter is the … Continue reading →

This message was delivered to Tabor College Combined Chapel in September 2013. I have lost a lot of weight since the start of this year.  If you pay attention you may have noticed that I don’t eat chocolate anymore, and … Continue reading →

Recently[1] my upper arm and shoulder began to hurt and then the pain got worse so that I could not move my arm or lie down to sleep.  In an effort to get rid of the pain, I consulted both … Continue reading →

Jonah and Jesus St Mark’s Bassendean 21.6.15 Jonah 2; Psalm 88:1-10; Acts 2:22-24; Matt 12:38-41 Introduction The book of Jonah is a shocking book, not because it tells the story of a God who puts a prophet in the belly … Continue reading →

Introduction Prayer can so often be difficult to do.  We all know that we should pray.  But sometimes the way we act is not the way we ought to act.  So many things get in the way of praying: pressures … Continue reading →

Beware the Gift Personal Matters The first thing that came up on ABC news radio this morning (8/6/15) was the decision of Hillsong to cancel their invitation to controversial US pastor Mark Driscoll to speak at their upcoming conference. Until … Continue reading →

Turning Point: Equal marriage and the Future of the Church Personal Matters Since the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage I have been receiving a host of messages from Christians alarmed about where our own nation is going. On one level … Continue reading →

Re-Incarnation: Faith @Work Personal Matters Sitting in a breakfast meeting last week with a small group discussing Faith @Work I became greatly stirred up in my spirit (John 11:33; Acts 17:16). The speaker described his journeying around the world to … Continue reading →

In-sight Prayer Ministry and the Spiritual Situation Today  People Alive AGM 26.5.15 Presenting Problem, Underlying Issue Ignorance: great need for healing but no inner sense that this is the case Resistance: awareness but avoidance. These behaviours are all based on … Continue reading →

Cry Justice Introduction As I was preparing this sermon a huge heading appeared on the front of The West Australian ; NO JUSTICE (13 May 2015 p.1). The average Australian appears to be deeply committed to issues of justice: everyone … Continue reading →

SMALL Personal Matters Having just returned from interstate where I was surprisingly confronted with issues to do with sin, plus the church’s failure to testify to Jesus, I was feeling even more “overpeopled” than normal. Feeling crushed, re-traumatised (again!) and … Continue reading →

Some recent events in my life have been somewhat stressful and upsetting.  My emotions have been very extreme.  During this time I have questioned many aspects of my life and wondered about its purpose.  In the course of my pondering … Continue reading →

Sabbath Keeping, Terrorism, Israel’s Jealousy and the End Personal Matters God is working out a global scenario involving Islamic terrorism the Gentile Church and the Jewish people. A friend who fled Kazakhstan recently because of persecution spoke prophetically when he … Continue reading →

Introduction I wrote this piece because I know that I have an idolatrous need to achieve things.  I have an intense fear that I will die without having ever accomplished anything worthwhile.  I began exploring participation in Christ both because … Continue reading →

Andrew Chan and The Meaning of Life The Meaning of Life is the title of a privately distributed communication from Andrew Chan to the Indonesian Church a few months ago. (Excerpts below retain the original wording.) Personal Matters I have … Continue reading →

God makes a powerful promise to believers in Romans 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The … Continue reading →

Sacred Blood Bonds: an ANZAC reflection The Spirit is calling us to a deeper realisation of how much we need one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, this will reveal Jesus as the ultimate source of the mateship Australians … Continue reading →